Artist Calls Out Taylor Swift For Using Her Work to Promote Her Album Without Crediting Her

An independent artist named Ally Burguieres is accusing Taylor Swift of using her artwork to promote her 1989 album 1989 without crediting or compensating her.

The whole situation started back in October 2014 when Taylor Swift shared an illustration of a fox with the lyrics "They are the hunters, we are the foxes, and we run" from her song "I Know Places" across all her social media accounts. Ally says the illustration, which was drawn by someone else and credited to them, was actually a copy of her original work.

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"As a professional artist, I was astonished to see you use one of my most popular designs on all your official social media platforms as part of your promotions for 1989," Ally writes in an open letter to Taylor Swift, which she posted to Facebook. "The design was a copy, and with someone else's name signed to it. I was devastated."

Ally acknowledges that Taylor and her team probably didn't realize that the fox was her original work, but considering Taylor has always been very outspoken about artists deserving credit for their work, she had hoped that by bringing it to her attention she would get credit. "I thought if you only KNEW about the error, you would do what is in your power to make it right," she writes in her post.

Ally says that after "months" of trying to contact Taylor in hopes of getting credit for her work, she was finally offered compensation... but with a major catch — she had to donate it. "After months of effort, I received an offer from you and your team that mentions no credit to me as the artist of the design, but does include payment of a 'four-figure' amount, with the stipulation that I must donate it all."

As a professional artist, Ally was insulted by the offer and its stipulations. "Taylor, as a professional, would you agree to such terms from Apple, or Spotify? My work is my living — it is how I pay my bills and support my family," Ally says.

Still, Ally doesn't harbor any ill will towards Taylor and insists she just wants the credit she deserves for her work. "I don't know what will come of this letter, but for the sake of my own business and on behalf of independent artists like myself, I had to speak up," Ally explains. "I have no ill will toward you, and I appreciate the theoretical virtue of your stance as a defender of art and intellectual property. I simply hope to see your actions fall more in line with the values you claim to hold."

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This isn't the first time Taylor (or her team) has been accused of being hypocritical when it comes to compensating other artists for their work. Tay was called out recently by concert photographers for allegedly asking them to sign contracts that would allow her to use their photographs without compensation in her promotional materials.